Makoto Aida: Walking The Line Of Explicitness

Born in 1965 in Niigata, Aida is a contemporary Japanese artist known for his provocative works. 

Though less well-known internationally, Aida is recognized in Japan as one of the preeminent figures of Japanese contemporary art.

His works span a range of media. From paintings, over photography and moving pictures to sculptures, he often portrays grotesque scenes, that almost always spark controversy.

What’s for sure is, that Aida shows the flaws of the Japanese and globalised society in his works. He has sourced several themes from Japanese culture, including harikari (ritual suicide), World War II kamikaze bombers, and manga.

Another topic he often uses in his work is the over-sexualisation of society. In “Blender” [2001] he uses naked girls to make a bloody shake for example.

What some find misogynistic, he explains it more like a commentary on misogyny:

“In modern developed countries, because of the amount of sex surrounding us, people have become something like monkeys in a zoo, masturbating on and off. Whatever is in my paintings is, in a way, entirely natural, because people have made such things”

Aida is an equal opportunity offender. Whether it’s sex, Japanese wartime history or simply the Japanese system; he walks a thin line between important and necessary society criticism, and unreasonable provoking and explicitness.

That may also be the reason why he is one of the main influences of Japanese “enfant terrible” and art collective Chim↑Pom, which proactively tackles social themes.